Eager to leave Liverpool, striker Luis Suarez will have to wait a little longer as Real Madrid finalizes their deal for Gareth Bale.

Photo: Reuters

With the transfer saga involving Gonzalo Higuain continuing to drag on, Arsenal have made a £30 million offer for Luis Suarez, according to widespread reports. Liverpool have refused to comment on the claims, but it is understood that the bid was immediately turned down.

It has now been four days since Higuain’s father claimed that they had permission to talk with Arsenal, despite it being believed that personal terms have long since been informally been agreed. Yet, there has so far been no further movement, with Real Madrid seemingly stalling on giving the go ahead for a transfer thought to be worth £23 million. The Sun claims that new Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti is eager for a meeting with the Argentina international and may wish to keep him at the club. However, Higuain has already insisted that he wants to leave the Bernabeu this summer and it is likely that Madrid are merely try to extract more money from the Gunners.

And that may give a hint as to the real motivations behind Arsenal’s bid for Suarez. While the Uruguayan has said that he wants to exit Anfield, he has also made it clear that he wants out of England. Arsenal surely realize that as well as knowing that there is little chance that Liverpool would sell to a Premier League rival. Intriguingly, Suarez’s likeliest next move still appears to be replacing Higuain at Real Madrid.

Thus Arsenal, could well be hoping that by showing that they are readily considering alternatives to Higuain, Madrid will be encouraged to speed up an agreement. Arsenal are seemingly the only team still in the running for the 25-year-old after Juventus balked at Madrid’a valuation and signed Carlos Tevez.

There remains speculation, however, that Arsenal could be looking to sign two big-name forward this summer. The Guardian, for one, thinks that Arsene Wenger is keen to pair Wayne Rooney with Higuain next season. And the Gunners, along with Chelsea, believe that Rooney can be lured away from Manchester United this summer, according to the Daily Mirror.

Rooney’s future at Old Trafford remains unclear despite David Moyes revealing at his first press conference as Manchester United manager last Friday that the player was “not for sale.” However, perhaps crucially, Moyes, despite being prompted on several occasions, refused to state that Rooney does not want to leave the club as Sir Alex Ferguson claims he said at the end of last season.

Stevan Jovetic could be another forward option that Arsenal return to. Heavily linked with a move to the Emirates earlier in the summer, talk has since gone cold, although IBTimes understands that the Fiorentina star’s future will be decided imminently. Sky Sport Italia has reported that Jovetic has rejected the chance to join Napoli and is thought to be keen to join Juventus.

The Italian champions, though, have stated that a move is unlikely, due to relations having broken down between the two clubs. A potential stumbling block for Juventus, as well as Arsenal, is Fiorentina’s €30 million (£25.9m) asking price. The Viola do, though, appear to be preparing for Jovetic’s departure having agreed to sign Bayern Munich striker Mario Gomez.